יום שישי, 14 באוגוסט 2015

Prayer with thanksgiving, declarative of God’s care over the beings he hath made

Great art thou, Lord Almighty, and great is thy power; and to thine understanding there is no limit; our Creator and Saviour, rich in benefits, long-suffering, and the Bestower of mercy, who dost not take away thy salvation from thy creatures; for thou art good by nature, and sparest sinners, and invitest them to repentance; for admonition is the effect of thy bowels of compassion. For how should we abide if we were required to come to judgment immediately, when, after so much long-suffering, we hardly emerge from our miserable condition!
The heavens declare thy dominion, and the earth shaketh with earthquakes, and, hanging upon nothing, declare thine unshaken steadfastness. The sea, raging with waves, and feeding a flock of ten thousand creatures, is bounded with sand, as standing in awe at thy will; and it compelleth all men to cry out, How great are thy works, Lord! In wisdom hast Thou made them all. The earth is full of what thou hast created.
And the bright host of angels, and the intellectual spirits, say to Him, One is holy! And the holy seraphim, together with the six-winged cherubim, who sing to thee their triumphal song, cry never-ceasing voices, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of thy glory. And the other multitudes of the orders, angels, archangels, thrones, dominions, principalities, authorities, and powers, cry aloud, and say, Blessed be the glory of the Lord out of his place. But Israel, thy church on earth, taken out of the Gentiles, emulating the heavenly Powers, night and day, with a full heart and a willing soul, singeth, the chariot of God is ten thousand fold, thousands of them that rejoice. The Lord is among them in Sinai, in the holy place.
The heaven knoweth Him who fixed it as a cube of stone, in the form of an arch, upon nothing; who united the land and the water to one another, and scattered the vital air all abroad, and conjoined fire therewith for warmth, and for the mitigation of darkness. The choir of stars striketh us with admiration, declaring Him that numbereth them, and showing Him that nameth them; the animals declare Him that putteth life into them; the trees, Him that maketh them grow; all which creatures, being made by thy word, show forth the greatness of thy power. Wherefore, every man, since by thine appointment he hath power over them all, ought, from his very soul, to send up a hymn to thee, through Christ, in the name of them all.
For thou art kind in thy benefits, and beneficent in thy bowels of compassion; who alone art almighty; for when thou willest, to be able is present with thee. For thine eternal power quencheth flame, and stoppeth the mouths of lions, and tameth whales, and raiseth up the sick, and over-ruleth the power of all things, and overturneth the host of enemies, and casteth down a people numbered in their arrogance. Thou art He who art in heaven, He who art on earth, He who art in the sea, He who art in finite things, thy self unconfined by anything. For of thy majesty there is no boundary; for it is not ours, Lord, but the oracle of thy servant, who said, And thou shalt know in thy heart that the Lord thy God is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath; and there is none other besides him. For there is no God besides thee alone; there is none holy besides thee, the Lord, the God of knowledge, the God of the saints, holy above all holy beings; for they are sanctified by thy hands.
Thou art glorious, and highly exalted, invisible by nature, and unsearchable in thy judgments; whose life is without want; whose duration can never fail; whose operation is without toil; whose greatness is unlimited; whose excellency is perpetual; whose habitation is inaccessible; whose dwelling is unchangeable; whose knowledge is without beginning; whose truth is immutable; whose work is without assistant; whose dominion cannot be taken away; whose monarchy is without succession; whose kingdom is without end; whose strength is irresistible; whose army is most numerous. For thou art the Father of wisdom, the Creator, as the primary Author, of the creation, by a Mediator; the Bestower of providence; the Giver of laws; the Supplier of want; the Punisher of the wicked, and the Rewarder of the righteous; the God and Father of Christ, and the Lord of those that are pious towards him, [thine anointed One;] whose promise is infallible; whose judgment is without bribes; whose sentiments are immutable; whose piety is incessant; whose thanksgiving is perpetual; and through whom worthy adoration is due to thee from every rational and holy nature.

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